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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

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5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter

It is the last over of the cricket match, with India requiring 17 runs to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom home situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is enjoying the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his smart phone glued to his best hand.

He has made more than 10 calls in the last 30 minutes - not to discuss the match however to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman gets ready to face the last over he's changed his mind.

"I think India is winning, make the change," he informs his bookmaker on the phone.

And a couple of minutes later his forecast comes to life, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

"I have made $200 today," he says with a childlike glee.

For more than 3 decades he's been wagering on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.

Other than horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, illegal wagering distributes grow in the nation.

'Black cash'

According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's prohibited sports betting market deserves some $150bn a year. And much of that sports betting cash is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal avenue, punters place their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bet on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest individual run scorer.

Most of these transactions include so-called "black money", which is cash not declared to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of sports betting in India, but unlike in the US which has a law forbiding internet gambling, there is nothing comparable here.

And offshore sports betting business are using this loophole to tempt Indians. Even though there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually signed up accounts with offshore companies.

"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online sports betting," says Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.

But regardless of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through call which dominate the market.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has actually grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, saying it would help secure down on corruption in the nation's favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend modifications in the performance of India's cricket regulative body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League sports betting scandal came to light.

Two franchises have actually been banned for two years after some players and group officials were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

The panel likewise argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax profits for the exchequer that might amount to $2bn a year.

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the ideal instructions.

"I don't mind paying some cash out my earnings, as long as I can bet publicly," says our cricket bettor.

It would likewise open a substantial business chance for certified bookmakers and international online wagering business to establish operations in India.

And it would assist limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make transactions involved in gambling more transparent.

"If you work alongside wagering companies, you will have a very reliable approach of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But many also think, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookie will have to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting because (some) individuals wouldn't desire to leave an audit path by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that individuals who use unaccounted money to put big bets will never bet lawfully.

Approval question

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to produce a new law, and politically this will be a hard concept to sell.

"Even though lots of people are associated with some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable problem for many," states our unnamed punter.

And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will need to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.
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"The process is so long and challenging that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this ending up being a truth anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having been backed by an official panel for the first time, at least a debate has fired up around a topic - which till now was thought about a taboo.